Does your company use Ultimaker? Know one that does? Let us know!

[akohut 1]

Hi Ultimaker community, 

 

I'm Adam, a copywriter on Ultimaker's content marketing team. We're currently planning future content for the "Learn" section of our website, which includes the Ultimaker blog and success stories. 

 

I'm hoping you all can help us out. If your company (or a company you know about) uses Ultimaker products in any capacity, we'd love to hear about it! If the story is there, and you're up for it, maybe we can work together to create a story that will be featured on the site.

 

Here are examples of success stories we have published in the past:

 

• Killa Design (architecture firm)
• Ford

 

The above content is somewhat large-scale, but that doesn't mean any story is too small! We're looking for anything that shows businesses or organizations using Ultimaker products to a positive end. So don't be shy! 

 

Also, any time you spot Ultimaker in the wild – on YouTube, in a newspaper, etc – please let us know. Great content can sometimes slip through the cracks, so any leads are of great use to us. You can let us know via this form

Thanks and hope to hear from you soon!

Adam 

[Belezeebub 9]

My Company does use Ultimaker sure it is only slightly more then a hobby and all profits only goes towards buying me more filament to play with but I do earn money from my printer, I do claim it on my taxes and I am already planning on getting the new S5 upgrades in Oct. 

 

 

(My story so far)

I am on my 6^th 3d Printer now, its an S5 I plan on updating to the Pro shortly, I got into this as a business by accident. I recently purchased a new home; it was a big fixer upper. When the local window guy came out to replace the windows, I was sitting at the table working on my I3 Mk3  he asked me “what is that” we talked for a few minutes.  He asked if I could make something for him, I said I would try, he rummaged in the back of his truck, he pulled out a mangled plastic part, he explained “ This is a window screen clip for aluminum windows, the company no longer exists, if someone needs a clip I have to sell them for 5 bucks each used” I looked at it spent 20 minutes in tinkercad and had a proto-type with great creative license because I had to basically guess what it looked like when it was new and still worked.

800 clips later it’s a business, I make proto-types and engineering samples, I do custom print orders with a few rules, 1. I will not print items downloaded from a website it must be your own item, and if I find the item object able I will not print it (I turned down an order for a very large multipart adult toy “gag gift” this year I made enough for the S5 and most of the pro upgrade cost. All in my spare time

 

 

Edited October 5, 2019 by Belezeebub

[akohut 1]

Hey Belezeebub, 

 

Great story! From where are you based? Do you have any specific customer stories (orders, organizations with which you have worked, etc) that you are willing or able to share? 

 

Really looking forward to hearing more! Let us know. 

 

Adam

[Niels_Amstel_Engineering 2]

Hi Adam,

 

The company I work at (Amstel Engineering) uses an S5 printer.

We are a design & engineering company based in Amsterdam.

We use the S5 mainly for rapid prototyping, but sometimes parts we print also end up in a final product.

Next to that more serious side of printing we also use it a lot to upgrade our office.

We made custom monitors stands, cable holders and door signs.

 

Hope this give you some insights, if you would like to know more, let me know.

 

Niels

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2019 by Niels_Amstel_Engineering

[akohut 1]

Hey Niels, 

Great to hear from you! I've just checked out your website and would love to hear more. Are there any particular stories (clients with which you've worked, projects you've used  the Ultimaker S5 with, etc) you'd like to share? 

 

 

Adam

Edited October 10, 2019 by akohut

[Belezeebub 9]

Anything that is my design I post on Thingiverse, any item I print for a customer I sign an NDR on but I can share the ones I made. Thing 3069317, Thing 3908122 (I am making these for a local business they need 50 of them once I get the cut out correct and add room for all the screws and plus) Thing 3867477 might be useful here. I am not a designer I just dabble in tinkercad.  I have made Holders for IR buds for work, Channel to mount ladder rack, Video camera mounts for my bosses house all in tinkercad I hope to use something better soon.

 

[9thoracle 3]

Hey all, I'd love to share my experience using Ultimaker printers at work as well.

 

I am an industrial designer in a packaging engineering group at MilliporeSigma in Milwaukee WI.

I actually run a small additive manufacturing group where I design and print parts for several of our production sites in North America. I have two UM2+ machines and one UM3. I create parts that serve as functional prototypes, manufacturing aids, and end use parts for our packaging teams to replace parts that are hard to find or expensive cnc parts. To date, we have achieved about a 5 to 1 ROI by using your machines!

 

 

[HuguesW 0]

Hi there,

 

In the company where I work, we're using UM printers at several locations in Europe, (10+)

It is a famous German family owned group that deals with very different activities, from fridges to mining excavators, ,landing gears for aircraft industry, combustion engines, electronics, hydraulics components….and many more.

 

At my workplace we operate two UMS5, one with the material station (waiting for firmware…)and have printed more than 15 kgs last month only...

 

I'm part of a workgroup about Additive Manufacturing( all technologies metal and plastics), and one of my tasks right now is preach and demonstrate the benefits of simple FDM 3D printed applications in the workshops.

To achieve this I will go on tour with an Ultimaker for live demos in all Business Units.

 

I would be very pleased to share more detail with you (interesting applications that are not advertised in your homepage)if you would like to, and why not set up a kind of direct collaboration.

Just let me know

 

Best Regards

 

Hugues

[thorsenrune 11]

Hi, there, at our rehabilitation institute (Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi) we have a research project using 3D printing for creating assistive devices. We started building the RepRap which enabled us to do some feasibility studies. Then we hoped the 'Olivetti 3D S2' could be usefull for larger objects. We just bought the Ultimaker S5 which hopefully brings us to the next level.

We just published this paper: From patient to maker - Taylor & Francis Online. 

I'm always looking for collaborations within the field of rehabilitation engineering. 

[bbaker 0]

Adam,

 

Sorry I did not see this earlier.  We have had good connection with Ultimaker for a while.  I am Brad Baker and am the Director for the MakerSpace at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.  Our website is here:  https://www.makerspaceusna.com/ and you will see several different aspects where we use Ultimakers and a range of other printers as well.  We have at least one video of one of our graduates showing how to use an S5 (https://www.makerspaceusna.com/how-to-printer-videos?wix-vod-video-id=faa3d3f1d91d40918d56f89298df1bb7&wix-vod-comp-id=comp-jy1te1ch).

 

Our primary interest is AM education but we also do research for several other organizations.  We currently only have 2 S5s but I am trying to order 2 more S5 Pro Bundles before the holiday break.  I already have quotes so do not need any assistance on these.  We have a wide range of research projects with one of the most notable projects being using an S5 to print the intake pipes for our FSAE car (no great direct link but  a good image is here: https://www.makerspaceusna.com/fdm-fff).  In the next 1-2 years I anticipate expanding our MakerSpace and replacing our current generation of FDM/FFF printers (about 20 printers).  I am currently working on deciding which way to go and our evaluation of the Pro Bundle this Spring will weigh heavily into that decision.

 

We are very interested in different filaments (a recent summary is here: https://www.makerspaceusna.com/filaments ) and we are about to start attempting to make our own filament for some very custom projects (we have a patent pending process).

 

I will be reaching out to Ultimaker separately in the next few weeks (most likely to Mr. Elfering directly) to offer an opportunity to come to USNA and speak to an AM elective class that I teach (over 80 engineering students).

 

We are very happy Ultimaker customers (we have some other favorite vendors also to be fair) and are very open to further collaboration.

 

- Brad

 

Brad Baker, CAPT USN

Associate Professor USNA

590 Holloway RD

Annapolis, MD  21402

(410) 293-6502 Office

bbaker@usna.edu

www.makerspaceusna.com

Edited November 26, 2019 by bbaker

[akohut 1]

Hey Brad, 

 

Great to hear from you! This sounds really interesting, would be great to hear a bit more! 

 

Adam

[Mk_studio 0]

Hi there! 
We are Copenhagen based ceramic, design studio. We are working with porcelain and we need to produce many plaster molds. We decided to implement 3D printing to mold making department and works amazing! We just got our s5 and we are recreating damaged or broken plaster models, we are printing reverse molds to cast them later in silicon to get mother mold for actual mold :D I know it’s sounds complicated but 3D printing opens a huge design filed which we didn’t have access to before. 

 

Website http://www.mk-ceramics.com/

Instagram @mkstudio_cph

Michal 

[monkeycmonkeydo 0]

I work at the University of Southampton in the UK and we have a few Ultimakers around in Engineering but I specifically work in the wind tunnels and have found many brilliant uses for our current UM2+ (though I would dearly love an S5 or even a UM3!).

 

The more traditional uses have resulted in components being manufactured for customers such as Aston Martin, creating aerofoil shrouds for our struts, replacement brake ducts for our 50% F1 model, an integrated pressure scanner mount that attaches our wake rake to our traverse... the list goes on.

 

Where things get really interesting is that I recently used our Ultimaker to create a few components to help complete the solar charging, battery assisted hand quadricycle that quadruple amputee Alex Lewis used to take him to Ras Dashen, the highest mountain in Ethiopia. I created a few components for the cycle including a little dashboard mount that accepted the electric bicycle displays and contained the Shimano battery for the gear changing system, a chain guide/tensioner, brake lever catch and drill jig along with various mounts and caps to tidy the cycle up. I was lucky enough to accompany Alex and the team on the expedition providing technical support for the cycle.

 

 

Feel free to get in touch if you'd like any more info on what we get up to.

 

Regards,

 

Dave Marshall

tunnels@soton.ac.uk

[uavelectronics 0]

Hello and Happy New Year

We are new Company in Europe and we manufacture the SKYCLIP which is a release mechanism for Drones and especially for Drone fishing.

We use the Ultimakers 2+ for printing our prototypes and then we manufacture them by SLS Additive manufacturing Technology for low volume production.

Our page is at www.facebook.com/skyclip.eu and 

 

We love ultimakers

[Dan_Noviun 2]

Hi Adam,

 

I've sent you a DM regarding an article I have produced for our practice in which we are using UM3's for our Architectural models.

 

Let me know if this is of interest to you.

 

Cheers!

[torvine 1]

Hi;

 

Our UM2 has saved us thousands of pounds in development work, we design mixing machines for pharmaceutical use, and even make sure that every product has at least 1 3d printed component.

 

I have an amazing story about teleporting spares to South Korea !

 

Regards

Mike

www.nymax.co.uk

[9thoracle 3]

6 hours ago, torvine said:

Hi;

 

Our UM2 has saved us thousands of pounds in development work, we design mixing machines for pharmaceutical use, and even make sure that every product has at least 1 3d printed component.

 

I have an amazing story about teleporting spares to South Korea !

 

Regards

Mike

www.nymax.co.uk

 

 

How do you handle sending files overseas in terms of the final use? To be more clear, how do you handle making sure the end users know exactly how to use the parts? I am looking at beginning to do the same thing; I might send a part to another plant in a different country so they can print it there but the parts often need some sort of finishing steps like applying hardware or other pieces. Im not sure how I am going to handle "Instructions" but I was curious if others have had to deal with this already. 

[torvine 1]

6 minutes ago, 9thoracle said:

 

 

How do you handle sending files overseas in terms of the final use? To be more clear, how do you handle making sure the end users know exactly how to use the parts? I am looking at beginning to do the same thing; I might send a part to another plant in a different country so they can print it there but the parts often need some sort of finishing steps like applying hardware or other pieces. Im not sure how I am going to handle "Instructions" but I was curious if others have had to deal with this already. 

Hi

 

Good point, however I also run a small company that creates technical illustrations & technical authoring, which does help.

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[9thoracle 3]

4 minutes ago, torvine said:

Hi

 

Good point, however I also run a small company that creates technical illustrations & technical authoring, which does help.

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ha! Thats great 🙂  I do also create instructional files. I think I might begin with simple how-to guides and see what comes from that. 

[Minkeproducts 3]

Dear Adam,

 

I am based in Arnhem, The Netherlands. I print mostly bones for musea and for reconstruction works (paleontology and paleoanthropology) Some timelapses have been made by filmcrews from NL, UK and Canada

I also use my two Ultimaker printers for making sketchmodels of furniture designs.

[Bentsej 1]

Adam,

 

We would be interested in helping out. I am one of the founders of a robotic inspection company based out of Michigan, USA. 

We specialize in manufacturing confined space inspection equipment designed to minimize or eliminate entry into these environments. 

We are using Ultimakers for both prototyping and manufacturing with materials such as glass filled nylon. currently, we have the S5 Pro Bundle and a UM2+. Our plan is to grow our S5 Pro Bundle fleet as orders grow.

 

Our latest product (Zenith) is manufactured on the S5 and is a one of a kind inspection tool that has some patent pending technologies 

 

Below is a a link to our website and new release video.

 

 

https://interactiveaerial.com/

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C34cAcUjOP0&feature=youtu.be

 

Let me know if you are interested in collaborating. 
Justin 

Edited February 3, 2020 by Bentsej

[Luquib 4]

Hi everyone!
My name is Lucas Baronzini, I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I work for Altana3D which is an additive manufacturing company that offers solutions for both medicine and dental applications. We actually own 8 Ultimaker 3 Extended that we use specifically for biomodeling and prequirurgic design/planning. We also, as a side business, provide 3d printing servicies for other areas. 

 

Thank you! 

www.altana3d.com
@altana3d

 

[jirodriguez72 19]

I am a designer for Cornell Pump Company in Portland, OR USA and we recently purchased a Ultimaker S5 Pro bundle to use for rapid prototyping of enclosures for a new IIOT device we are creating. We are printing exclusively in poly-carbonate in order to make functional prototypes that we are then subjecting to tests. Once we have nailed down our form factor and design we will switch to plastic mold injection for production runs, but the S5 has been great for rapid iterations of the design.

 

One of our tests involved a hexagonal part with a 3/8-16 grade 5 bolt passing through the base, we then encapsulated the bolt head in epoxy and applied torque to the assembly to see at what point either the printed housing or the epoxy would fail. On one test the housing and epoxy failed at 40 ft/lbs and on the other test the bolt actually sheared in half at 37 ft/lbs.... but the housing and epoxy showed no visible  damage. Needless to say we are very pleased at the mechanical properties we are achieving with the prints and the Ultimaker poly-carbonate material.

 

Thank you,

Johnny Rodriguez

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi @jirodriguez72, thank you for your message and letting us know! Which poly carbonate material were you using? Did you use the material profiles that are available via the marketplace to start your tests? 

 

Great comment, thank you! 

[jirodriguez72 19]

@SandervG we are using the Ulitimaker black poly carbonate. I did start with the base Ulitmaker profile, but found the temp and the flow rate were to high - I ended up with a lot of blobbing and stringing. I reduced the temp to 270 °C, reduced the skirt/brim flow to 68%, and reduced the flow for walls/top/bottom to 90%. I also set retraction to 10 mm and disabled Z-Hop - these were both to reduce stinging.

 

The end results are parts that are coming out very clean with little to no post printing processing required.